Chapter 21 The Outcome is Decided

As Li Longfan's voice faded, a wave of murmurs rippled through the Left and Right Mighty Cavalry Camps not far away. Presently, the gates of the Left Mighty Cavalry Camp swung open first, and Xue Jungu, the Commander of the Left Mighty Cavalry, led two deputy generals out of the camp to receive the imperial decree. Seeing this, Ma Xu, the Commander of the Right Mighty Cavalry, also ordered his camp gates opened, though he brought a much larger contingent—a full ten men.

"This humble general, Xue Jungu, respectfully listens to the sacred decree!" Knowing that Li Longfan, Li Longye, Pei Min, and their entourage meant business and realizing there had been a coup within the palace, Xue Jungu was nonetheless aware that the Mighty Cavalry's numbers fell short of the Imperial Guards by over a thousand men, and they were completely unprepared. If a battle were to break out, he would undoubtedly be the one to suffer. Rather than being executed on charges of defying an imperial decree, it was far wiser to step out obediently and receive it. Ma Xu followed shortly after, bowing low, a look of profound shock and a measure of helplessness in his eyes.

Li Longfan recited the imperial decree with practiced familiarity. Every single word of the edict was etched into his memory, making his delivery exceptionally fluent.

Hardly had the decree fallen when a fierce-looking officer of the sixth rank behind Ma Xu cried out in protest, "Impossible! How could the Grand Princess rebel? It must be—"

Before he could finish his sentence, his head vanished.

A collective look of horror washed over those surrounding him. They only saw a flash of cold sword light, and then a headless corpse was left standing upright, refusing to fall—testament to the sheer speed of the blow. About three breaths later, the body finally crashed to the ground, kicking up a flurry of dust.

Those mere three breaths it took for the corpse to fall felt as long as half an hour to everyone present.

A dead silence descended!

A single drop of blood slid down the tip of a sword and struck the earth. Pei Min stood leaning on his unsheathed sword, his voice icy. "The Retired Emperor himself issued this decree. Princess Taiping is plotting rebellion, and the evidence is irrefutable! Yet someone dares to question the sacred mandate. He deserved to die!"

Pei Min exuded a murderous aura!

As a renowned master of swordsmanship, the speed and ferocity of his sneak attack carried immense deterrent power. Almost no one had time to react before the man who spoke was already decapitated.

Gazing at the murderous Pei Min, Xue Jungu and Ma Xu turned pale as paper, especially Ma Xu. The man who had just spoken was named Xu Rong, a secret convert who belonged entirely to Princess Taiping's faction. Over the past few days, Xu Rong had frequently whispered in his ear, acting as a lobbyist for the Princess. Seeing that Li Longji's throne was increasingly precarious while Princess Taiping's momentum grew stronger by the day, Ma Xu's heart had gradually wavered. Although he had not given the Princess a definitive answer, he had dropped subtle hints, letting it be known that if she promised him high office and generous emoluments, the Right Mighty Cavalry could pledge their allegiance to her. Little did he expect that before he could receive a concrete reply from the Princess, the very person who had bridged the gap would lose his head right before his eyes! If this murderous fiend before him ever found out about his clandestine plotting with Princess Taiping, would that sweeping sword strike not fall on him next? Could he possibly evade it?

At this thought, Ma Xu felt his scalp tingle fiercely. He viewed Xu Rong's fate as a stark warning bell; if he failed to make the right move immediately, the next headless corpse might well be his own.

Driven by these frantic thoughts, Ma Xu did not dare hesitate for even a split second. Since Xu Rong was already dead, no one knew of his clandestine dealings. He threw back his head and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Ma Xu of the Mighty Cavalry receives the decree! I am willing to aid the Retired Emperor and His Majesty in crushing the rebels."

With Ma Xu having declared his stance, and knowing that the balance of forces was completely asymmetrical, Xue Jungu had no choice but to receive the decree as well.

Li Longfan was overjoyed. Previously, he had felt that Pei Min's summary execution of the man was somewhat rash, fearing it might spark a mutiny. He had never imagined the psychological effect would be so profound, prompting a newfound respect for the swordsman.

***

With the support of the Imperial Guards and the Mighty Cavalry, they now possessed the capital to contend with the Southern Imperial Army. The Left and Right Imperial Guards, together with the Left and Right Mighty Cavalry, totaled over ten thousand men. This formidable host surged southward, converging upon the Wude Hall.

Li Longji had already received intelligence that Dou Huaizhen and Xiao Zhizhong were gathering troops and assigning generals at the Southern Imperial Headquarters, plunging him into acute anxiety. The military strength controlled by the Southern Army vastly surpassed that of the Imperial Guards and the Mighty Cavalry. If Dou Huaizhen and Xiao Zhizhong were given sufficient time to mobilize and deploy troops, even if Li Longji could summon every available soldier from the Northern Army, success was far from guaranteed.

At this critical juncture, receiving the news that the Northern Army had marched to the rescue brought Li Longji boundless joy. The fact that Li Longfan, Li Longye, Pei Min, and their party had achieved total success in such a brief span was undoubtedly sending charcoal in snowy weather amidst an utterly chaotic situation.

"Splendid! Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, you truly are magnificent!" Li Longji was stirred beyond measure, practically dancing with excitement as he said, "A slight twist occurred in our plan. I managed to dispatch Cen Xi and Cui Shi, but let Dou Huaizhen and Xiao Zhizhong slip away."

The expressions of Li Longfan and Pei Min shifted slightly. They knew the situation had grown grave. Dou Huaizhong's escape was of little consequence; he was merely a mediocre figure of average talent who possessed ambition but lacked the ability to stand alone at the helm. Xiao Zhizhong was entirely different. As the chief strategist for Princess Taiping, Xiao Zhizhong was austere, disciplined, self-restrained, and held immense prestige among both civil and military officials. Moreover, he was decisive and possessed profound tactical acumen. His escape meant he would mount an immediate countermeasure, which boded extremely ill for them.

And indeed, it proved to be so!

Li Longji recounted the news of Dou Huaizhong and Xiao Zhizhong gathering troops at the Southern Headquarters.

"Fortunately, you reclaimed the Northern Imperial Guards in the shortest possible time, or else we would truly be in mortal peril," Li Longji said. "Let us first secure the Jiale, Chengtian, and Yong'an Gates to seal off the inner imperial city. Once we control the palace, given its formidable fortifications, any attempt by the Southern Army to breach the walls will be nothing short of wishful thinking."

Pei Min felt this approach was far too conservative and proposed, "I believe we can be more aggressive. Blindly defending is no solution. Only by projecting strength can we demonstrate that we represent the righteous cause. We can split our forces into two routes: one, as Your Majesty suggested, to secure the Jiale, Chengtian, and Yong'an Gates; and the other to sally forth directly and strike. If my calculations are correct, the troops and generals in the outer city must be in utter chaos right now, gathered together and gripped by panic. The Generals of the Sixteen Guards are unlikely to believe Xiao Zhizhong's words entirely; they are merely constrained by military law and protocol, forced to obey orders against their will. As long as we expose their true colors or eliminate them outright, the Southern Army may not dare to revolt."

Li Longji's eyes lit up, though a trace of hesitation lingered in his heart. Defending the three gates was a foolproof strategy that would render him invincible. While Pei Min's proposal was logical and well-reasoned, dividing his forces would strain his available manpower and risked failing to hold the three gates.

"Your Majesty, do not hesitate. Pei Min's plan is excellent—" Before Li Longji could make a final decision, Guo Yuanzhen strode into the Wude Hall, breathing heavily.

Astonished, Li Longji asked, "Why is Lord Guo here?" His expression shifted slightly. "Could something have happened to my eldest brother?"

Guo Yuanzhen panted intermittently. "No... an unexpected development occurred... though it may not be a bad thing. I caught sight of Princess Taiping's ceremonial procession near a corner of the Taiji Palace." According to the original plan, he was supposed to await summons to reassure Emperor Ruizong, but since Princess Taiping was already at the Taiji Palace, preemptively lodging complaints was no longer viable. Remaining there served no purpose, so he had turned back for the Wude Hall, arriving just in time to hear Pei Min's proposal.

***

Guo Yuanzhen was an adept military commander without peer in strategy. Once he caught his breath, he spoke with an unstoppable flow of eloquence.

"The Art of War states: speed is the essence of warfare," Guo Yuanzhen said earnestly. "The Northern Army differs from the Southern Army. Northern generals possess both the authority to mobilize and command troops; their soldiers are united in heart and mind, operating as smoothly as limbs moved by the torso. In contrast, the Southern Chancellors have the authority to mobilize troops, but not to command them. In other words, even if Dou Huaizhen and Xiao Zhizhong possess the authority to order the Great Generals of the Sixteen Guards into motion, whether those generals execute the orders, how they execute them, whether they offer passive compliance or treat the commands as sacred decrees—all of that depends entirely on the discretion of the Sixteen Guards' Great Generals themselves.

"For a grand army to press upon the palace is no trivial matter. Even upon receiving orders from Dou Huaizhen and Xiao Zhizhong, the Great Generals of the Sixteen Guards will inevitably hesitate and dare not take such a risk. Furthermore, General Ge Fushun of the Right Xiaowei Guards and General Li Xianfu of the Left Weiwei Guards both responded to Your Majesty's call in years past to eliminate Empress Wei. They are veterans who stood close to Your Majesty. While they might not dare to openly defy Dou Huaizhen and Xiao Zhizhong, neither will they exert their full strength. Our true opponents are merely those who have completely defected to Princess Taiping—such as General Li Qin of the Left Jinwu Guards and General Feng Bai of the Right Wuwei Guards. As long as we project sufficient momentum, the might of our Northern Army will be enough to overawe the Southern Army. Annihilate Li Qin and Feng Bai, win over generals like Ge Fushun and Li Xianfu, execute the ringleaders, and the grand situation will be settled!"

Pei Min was young after all and lacked seasoned experience. Though talented, he could not match Guo Yuanzhen's seasoned ruthlessness, which accounted for every variable comprehensively. Moreover, when the exact same logic was articulated by Guo Yuanzhen, it came with sound reasoning and irresistible persuasive force.

Hesitating no longer, Li Longji nodded. "Let it be done according to Jingyuan and Lord Guo's wishes... Lord Guo, mobilizing troops and deploying generals is your forte. The Left and Right Imperial Guards and the Left and Right Mighty Cavalry shall all be under your command."

Guo Yuanzhen did not decline. He decisively issued his deployment orders: the Left Imperial Guard was to control the Jiale, Chengtian, and Yong'an Gates to seal off the inner palace; the Right Imperial Guard and the Left and Right Mighty Cavalry were ordered to launch a direct assault on the Southern Army, executing on the spot any who dared to offer resistance. At the same time, as they sortied, they were to broadcast loudly Princess Taiping's treason and the Retired Emperor's decree, instilling deep apprehension in the Great Generals of the Sixteen Guards so they would not dare to rashly respond to the summons of Dou Huaizhen and Xiao Zhizhong.

Finally, Guo Yuanzhen gave a special instruction to Pei Min. "His Majesty's safety surpasses all else. Your martial prowess is the greatest; you shall protect His Majesty's life."

This was out of consideration for Pei Min's future. Pei Min's assistance to Li Longfan and Li Longye in winning over the Imperial Guards and Mighty Cavalry was the crucial pivot for Li Longji's successful coup, earning him astronomical merit for "assisting the dragon's rise." Given his youth and shallow foundation, such monumental achievements were enough to take a long time to digest. Distributing the remaining merits rationally was the proper course; if too much credit for founding the dynasty accumulated in a single person, that person would inevitably become a target of public envy, which was detrimental to his long-term prospects.

Recognizing the wisdom in this advice, Pei Min accepted the order.

Everything unfolded precisely as Guo Yuanzhen had anticipated. Although Dou Huaizhen and Xiao Zhizhong held the authority to mobilize and command troops, true military power over the Southern Imperial Army rested in the hands of their respective grand generals. Gathering troops to pressure the palace was an affair of such magnitude that the high-ranking generals of the various guards could not afford to act rashly. Well over half of the imperial garrison simply went through the motions perfunctorily. Especially after the Imperial Guards and Mighty Cavalry burst forth from the palace city, the generals reined in their subordinates, began calculating the balance of power, and prepared to choose their side.

While the Southern Army harbored divided loyalties and competing agendas, the Northern Army surged forward borne by the glory of restoring the true sovereign. The morale of the two sides could not be spoken of in the same breath.

In particular, when General Li Qin of the Left Jinwu Guards and General Feng Bai of the Right Wuwei Guards—the very first to respond to Dou Huaizhen and Xiao Zhizhong's call—were routed by Xue Jungu (Commander of the Left Mighty Cavalry), Ma Xu (Commander of the Right Mighty Cavalry), and Wei Liang (Acting Commander of the Right Imperial Guard), generals close to Li Longji, such as Ge Fushun and Li Xianfu, raised the banner of rebellion from within!

Victory and defeat were now decided!